“I think the president-elect is very clear that he’s going to be very active in putting America’s security first and foremost and if another country wants to threaten our sovereignty or our safety he will act,” newly appointed White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tells CNN.

The interview came after President-elect Donald Trump startled the media and anti-nuclear activists by signaling to the world that America had no intention of reducing its nuclear stockpile until the rest of the world follows suit.

“The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Spicer says Trump’s message was to Russia and any other country around the globe that was considering increasing the stock of nuclear weapons.

“The bottom line is this, the president is going to put our nation’s security and safety first … that’s what every American should understand that he’s not going to be a passive president,” Spicer said. “He’s going to be active and make sure that our safety is number one.”

During MSNBC’s Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski spoke with Trump on the phone, asking him to explain his statement.

“Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump said, according to Brzezinski.